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Chappell Roan Got Too Famous Too Fast

She’s gone from anonymous to ubiquitous in less than a year, and it’s too much to handle.

In a “Weekend Update” segment on Saturday Night Live, Bowen Yang appeared as Moo Deng in a bit comparing the viral hippo’s plight to Roan’s own complaints about inappropriate fan behavior, cementing it as A Definite Thing. In August, she issued a series of social-media statements calling out “predatory” fans and disagreeing “with the notion that I owe a mutual exchange of energy, time, or attention to people I do not know, do not trust, or who creep me out, just because they’re expressing admiration.” A week later, she canceled two European tour dates over scheduling conflicts, seemingly with the MTV VMAs, where she once again made headlines for getting in a shouting match with a photographer on the red carpet. Up until the European cancellations, Roan was an endearing story of overnight success, the quirky theater kid who’d made good while remaining honest and unfiltered, and most supporters agreed with her decision to draw a firm boundary against pushy fans.

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